Stagecoach Adventure & Old West Cookout --Yellowstone National Park

See Yellowstone by horse

It’s difficult for kids to imagine life without the internet and cell phones, let alone cars and trains, but back in Wyoming’s early days, wagons and stagecoaches ruled the Old West.

Stagecoach Adventure & Old West Cookout, Yellowstone

Stagecoaches played a significant role in the history of Yellowstone National Park too, as they were the first vehicles used in the park to transport guests from area train stations to the park's attractions. Today, Yellowstone visitors can recapture those bygone times with stagecoach tours of the park.

The rides are given in replicas of the original stagecoaches and take them on a two-mile track in the Tower and Roosevelt areas near the northeast park entrance. Bring along binoculars and cameras, as chances are, you'll spot some wildlife on the half-hour trip.

For an expanded experience, you might want to splurge on the Roosevelt Old West Dinner Cookout. You can make the trip to the cookout site by stagecoach or on horseback, although horseback riders must be eight-years-old or older. Families can split up to make the journey, with some riding horses and others traveling by stagecoach, however the duration of each option varies, meaning you may not all arrive at the same time.

Dinner begins at dusk, after all of the guests reach the cookout site. Once everyone's settled, ranchers are on hand to cook up steaks and serve an all-you-can-eat cowboy buffet of chuck wagon corn, baked beans, cornbread, coleslaw, watermelon and more. As guests dine, a performer -- usually a singing cowboy -- entertains guests with songs and stories of the Old West.